Barone's Famous Italian Rstrnt

ONLY ORDER THE PIZZA AND THE BARONES ITALIAN SALAD!! That is why we go. It's why everyone in L.A. and beyond goes. It's the reason people that moved away from LA come back... The PIZZA... nothting else, well the salad too. Pros: null Cons: null more

Started ok but the server was very rushed and stressed and unfortunately that made us feel stressed right off the bat. There were only 2 of us and our drinks came over 5 minutes apart from each other (a lemonade and a non alcoholic beer). Our appetizer was the caprese salad which was actually good. The tomatoes were excellent, the basil was fresh and the buffalo mozzarella while not super smooth and creamy as we are used to, was still very good, just different. The main course took a very long time to come. I had the angel hair primavera with chicken and my wife had the special with eggplant, shrimp and ravioli. The eggplant was salty like an anchovy, literally as was most of the rest. So salty she could not eat it. We called the waitress over and calmly explained, she checked with the manager and was told they woukd give us a free dessert. We stated we would prefer something she could actually eat, after all it is a $25 plate of food. They would only agree to knock 3 bucks off our bill and would not replace the meal. Whatever. My primavera had some very tasty grilled chicken on top but the veggies were horribly mushy and overcooked and there was a puddle of water at the bottom of my plate. Very unappealing. The couple dining next to us waited almost an hour and their food never came. The manager was refusing to agree to let them just pay for their froinks and leave and finally they just asserted themselves and did it. On our way out, still trying to be gracious, I said good evening to our waitress and she rudely turned her back to us! Unbelievable! I will never go there again! Pros: null Cons: null more

I love Italian Food. Barone reminds me why I love it so much. The Italian dressing is so mmmm.... its very good. Thanks Barone, will be back. Pros: null Cons: null more

When I was a small child my father would bring home Barone's pizza and salad every Thursday night. Rolos for dessert. We're talking late 50's early 60's. He was a film-editor, and worked long hours. But it was an incredibly special treat,one that my brother and I always looked forward to. I avoided the pizza 'cause i was small and, um, stupid. But once i got over my avoidance of anything squished together Barone's was my favorite place to be. Birthdays, whatever, I did not have an aversion to square shaped pizza. I wish i could copy that Italian dressing because it still haunts me. In a good way. more

I had the veal scallopini on marsela, it was to die for. Beautiful, thin white veal. They're known for their fantastic pizza and the ones we shared were superb. Excellent toppings and thin crust that I like the best. We had a very gracious Italian hostess. She was so pleasant and friendly and made certain we all felt welcome and comfortable. The Italian dressing on the salad was fabulous. If I had one complaint it would be there was too much food... but doggy-bags to the rescue - I had a lovely supper as well. Pros: Our "Red Hatters" group felt so welcome, like queens! Cons: Nothing - our lunch was perfect more

i've been to this restaurant quite a few times, and i have to say it is certainly one of my favorites. the food is amazing quality, and couldn't be prepared any better. if you want really authentic italian food, i suggest you go here, you won't find any better. the pizza is my favorite, it has such great flavor. the menu selection they have is great. they have almost everything. i love barone's. i believe everyone should get to experience the great ambiance they have there. Pros: very nice and polite staff, amazing owner Cons: nothing more

I had eaten here once before for a friend's birthday...it is an older, dingy looking establishment, I was told the food was good. The food could barely be considered mediocre. We ordered pizza and salad. The pizza crust was slightly burned and the salad was pretty generic and not all that fresh. The service was not great. On my second visit to said establishment, I was invited to meet friends with our children, I suggested other places but this was considered by the others in our group to be most convenient. I grudgingly went along. From the moment we walked in, the service could not have been worse. I asked for a table for eight and was told by the manager that they needed to prepare a table, I followed him to the table, only to have him sharply tell me that he had told me to "wait up front!" while rolling his eyes. "I need room to work!" I was hardly hovering over this manager with the surly demeanor. I told him that I didn't hear him ask us to wait up front, but that I'd gladly wait there until our table was ready. When the rest of our party arrived at the restaurant, the children in our group who entered quietly and were well behaved, were instantly discriminated against merely for being children by both the manager and the older, very rude, most unpleasant waitress. The waitress was so rude to the children as they were sitting down that she made one of them cry. She then looked at the grown-ups in the party and said "I didn't do nothing. I don't know what her problem is!" At which point we left. This place is so unfriendly to families. The food is not that good, the atmosphere is lousy and the service was just awful. I will never return to this place. Save yourself...go somewhere else...we did and couldn't have been happier. Pros: None Cons: Horrible customer service, dingy atmosphere, food bland more

Barone's has been around forever, but apparently it will not be for long. It is amazing that Tom, the owner, does not know what in the hell he is doing. Not only did he lose his two restaurants, it looks like he will not be happy until he runs the Famous Italian eatery into the ground. Pros: NONE Cons: Rude owner, staff. Food - terrible more

Went to Barone's last night...y favorite pizza usually. Last night orderd two pepperoni pizza's and the were both burned. Either the ovens aren't working properly or more

This location in Van Nuys has very limited Parking spaces in the Main Parking area near the Front door. It... more

This location in Van Nuys has very limited Parking spaces in the Main Parking area near the Front door. It is for Valet parking ONLY. For self park... more

I usually love this restaurant...we sometimes eat there Friday evening and go for the pizza, which is the best. Never had a service problem until.... Pros: Good pizza Cons: rude service--what happened? more

I have eaten at Barone's for forty years. They have excellent pizza and salad, delicious house dressing. I am absolutely in love with the fried zucchini, it is light and crisp and not greasy at all. It seems that there are few good restaurants left in the Valley. Thank goodness this one is still around. Pros: Best fried Zucchini in Los Angeles Cons: difficult parking more

I went to celebrate my birthday with my family. We have been going to Barones for decades. Recently I read the reviews they have received, mostly negative, and I was concerned that they had gone down hill. Well they haven't. Barones has never been a World Class restaurant, so don't expect that when you go. The food is good old fashioned Italian and has never changed. I've been eating there for more than 40 years and my parents for more than 50. Also regarding the lady with the heavy accent and the bad attitude, she has obviously had a change of mind as she was delightful while we were there. Everyone deserves another chance. Barones is an institution and should have that. You can't be perfect ALL THE TIME. So lighten up people. My family and I will continue to go back as always. Pros: Pizza - Spaghetti - Sandwiches Cons: Parking more

well my wife and I thought we'd try out the "famous barones". We made our reservation to 3 weeks in advance as we wanted to see our friend perform there. We were assured over the phone by the man who took our reservation that we had a very nice booth near the stage. Upon our arrival, to our dismay, it all went to hell when we checked in with the hostess. I don't know her name, but she was a middle aged women with dark hair and a heavy accent. She had a cold and rude manner. After checking in she made us wait for several minutes then proceeded to lead us to our table far to the back of the room. When we asked her what had happened to the table we had been promised "near the stage". She got very defensive and rude. Saying something about it being very busy and we would just have to be "happy to have a place to sit at all". Now, our reservation was for 8:00pm. We arrived at 7:55pm. There was hardly anyone in the place at that time. So I was in shock at why she would be so short and rude, and why she gave us such an aweful table. I was appauled at her non existant customer service skills. Not to mention I could barely understand her hideously thick accent. Pros: great pizza Cons: terrible hostess more

I would not recommend this place they are not honest people. more

What an absolute horrible experience I just had at Barone's. As a kid that was my favorite place to go so tonight I thought I would share it with my husband. Im sorry I did. The service was terrible we ordered a large pizza and 45 minutes later the waitress told us it was gonna be a while because they had a big order before us. Then 30 minutes after that I had to flag her down to get our check due to the fact we had still not recieved our food. She brought me the food and the check 15 minutes after that. the pizza was the worst thing I have ever eaten. Needless to say I think I took two bites out of it and my husband never ate any he was so mad. It was very greasy and extremely salty. I paid my bill and was asked if everything was ok and I said no I felt I was treated very poorly. They didn't offer to take the pizza we didn't eat off the bill. And what's worse than all of it they NEVER AND I MEAN NEVER once apologized to us. I will never go back there and I hope that this gets to many readers as possible and they take it into consideration not to either. more

I never would have guessed that this restaurant would be such a very bad experience. The waitress was very good, but the Veal Marsala which was on the menu (but not on their website menu) was not delivered. Instead, I got a plate of very overcooked, tough chicken marsala. The chicken was so tough that you had to use a knife, or press very hard using the fork to cut it. The mushrooms and marsala sauce were tasty, but not the chicken. Remember, I ordered 'Veal', not chicken. I called the waitress over and after explaining the problem with the order, agreed to try eating it again. After another couple of bites, I just couldn't eat any more and requested that the waitress take it back and serve me the veal marsala. A taller, 45ish owner / manager brought the plate back to the table and stated, "We don't do that here!" I was caught a little off-guard and reiterated that I ordered veal, not chicken. He again said that they didn't do that at Barones, and that it 'was' veal. He then started cutting it in front of everybody at the table and to get their support left the dish for everyone to eat. I again told him that I ordered veal and was not happy with the dish and then requested eggplant parmagiane. It was O.K., nothing special. Later, after my friends had left, and while finishing my eggplant, called him over to my table. I told him that I used to be a waiter at a very nice country club and that I thought his conduct was not only unprofessional, but 'cheap'. I then told him that as a customer, I deserved to be treated with respect. He would not listen to my concerns and started argueing. After making him aware of his 'trashy' service, I then finished my meal and left. I would also like to say that their 'baby' martini's at $11.00 each are way overprice for a middle class Italian restaurant. $5.00- $7.00 would be reasonable for a 'so-so' restaurant. I would never go back there again. Terrible service, overpriced drinks. more

What a disaster! The old Barone's on Ventura had great pizza, mediocre food and interesting decor. This new attempt is a nightmare. Great pizza is now only good, and that's when you get the right order, the other food is hospital cafeteria awful and they apparently couldn't affored to remodel the old Hoppe's/Matterhorn Chef, so the Bavarian decor is ludicrous for a red-sauce "joint". But the real problem is the service. Apparantly, the son of the former and ledgendary owner now owns it and seems barely able to keep things together. The two kids in ill-fitting white shirts and poorly tied black ties who try to run the takeout counter still, after two years, have no clue what to do next. I live two blocks away and was initially delighted at the prospect of having this valley gem literally at my doorstep. But excitement turned to horror as soon as I tried them out - DISASTER. I gave up on dining there - the food is just too bad - but the takeout pizza is still worth the trip. But two times out of three they get the order wrong then make lame excuses about why. So try getting the pizza - but be sure to check your order. And when you find a place with professional staffers, think Musso Frank or the old Martoni's, go often and keep them in business. This place deserves to sink. Pros: Walking distance close Cons: The food, the owner, the children trying to be the staff... more

When we first got there we got sat at what looked like a dirty table. A friend of mine was given a dirty spoon and my boyfriend's glass of wine was dirty and kind of questionable. This already had us feeling uneasy about the decision to eat at Barone's. While all this happened, it didn't seem that anyone, including the waitress cared that our table was dirty. We overlooked it and went on to get our bread. The bread was so hard....I think that it might've chipped a tooth. Now, I'm not sure if it's always like this.....or they just wanted our dining experience to be horrible because it certainly was. We ordered our food...which was OKAY. We were hoping it was going to be spectacular after all that. The food was mediocre and the service was awful....I would never go back. The only reason I would eat Barone's again is ordering pizza to go, which my boyfriend claims is delicious....I have yet to understand why. Pros: Food was okay Cons: Everything else was bad more